This 10 day camping self-drive safari is aimed at the budget conscious traveller who is not adverse to spending a few nights under canvas. It offers value-for-money campsites in some absolutely awesome places. Try and spot a brightly coloured net-winged beetle which inhabit a wide variety of forest, savannah and grassland on your way round Namibia.
The first stop is the Waterberg Plateau which towers over the surrounding plains, 41,000ha of land was declared a Nature Reserve in 1972. An important event in Namibian history occurred here when the Herero people lost their last and greatest battle against the German Colonial forces here. Next up is the Etosha National Park here you can expect to see a wide variety of Namibian wildlife including many buck species, elephant, giraffe, rhino and lion. Leopard and cheetah sightings are possible but not guaranteed.
The semi-desert area of Damaraland is untamed, ruggedly beautiful and offers self-drive visitors a real adventurous challenge. View San rock engravings, meet the 'white lady' and a petrified forest. From here you head to the coast and the Cape Cross Seal Reserve, nose clips on to watch the largest breeding colony of Cape fur seals on earth, fight, mate, reproduce and fish in the Cape Cross Seal Reserve. Over 200,000 of these mammals are present during November and December, filling the air with a never-ending cacophony of bleats and barks.
Recreation is Swakopmund's number one draw card with numerous pursuits to help you spend your time and money. Adventure activities such as sand boarding, quad biking, dune carting, parachuting, hot air ballooning, shark fishing, deep sea fishing and beach angling are extremely popular. Then it is on to Sossusvlei, the highlight of many peoples Namibian trip, climbing arguably the highest dunes in the world, which is a horseshoe-shaped clay pan. Dust yourselves down afterwards before heading back to Windhoek.
You will need to provide your own camping equipment for this trip as it is not included in the quote and can not be rented at the campsite - if you require we can assist in making arrangements for the rental of suitable equipment.
While it is possible to book this itinerary 'as is', all our self drive safaris are customisable, we can add or delete days, change the accommodation used and generally design the tour to suit your individual requirements. If you do not like the idea of driving yourself the itinerary could easily be used as the basis for a guided safari.
Waterberg, Etosha, Damaraland, Swakopmund & Sossusvlei.
We start your Namibian adventure with an easy 300 kilometers drive, the majority of this is on good tarred road followed by a short 24 kilometers section of gravel driving. Once you pass through the town of Okahandja the landscape becomes flat and the road is straight - pretty much the only notable geographical feature along this section of the road are the Omatako Mountains. Clearly these mountains have made quite an impression on Namibian's for several centuries as the ...
None
From Waterberg it is about a three hour drive through the towns of Otjiwarongo, Otavi and Tsumeb to the Etosha Park. Otjikoto Lake, just north of Tsumeb, is a popular stop for lunch, or you could decide to push on and enter the park via the von Lindequist gate as soon as possible. The chances are that immediately on entering the national park you will start to see interesting wildlife - so covering even the shortest distance can be a ...
None
It is really worth waking early and heading out on your game drive as soon as the gates open at sunrise. Animals are most active in the cool of the day (early morning and late afternoon) and in order to maximise your chances of good viewings it is worth imitating their behaviour. The roads in Etosha are unsealed gravel roads but are in reasonable condition - and the general tourist behaviour is to drive between various waterholes searching for animals. As ...
None
Hopefully by now you will have seen everything the park has to offer and are ready to move on. From today onwards the geographical features you encounter will become more striking as you head into the Namib Desert. Leaving Etosha via the Andersson gate head south to the Town of Outjo and from there westwards to Khorixas. Those interested in geological matters may be inclined to take the short detour from the main road to visit the Vingerklip (Rock Finger). From ...
None
A short drive followed by a slightly longer walk will bring you to the 'White Lady' rock painting. For many years it was speculated that this Bushman painting was a depiction of a European woman (it seems to have escaped those doing the speculating that the drawing was done thousands of years before Europeans visited the southern part of Africa, and even more worryingly close inspection of the drawing seems to indicate it is not female!) From the Brandberg you begin ...
None
There are a host of adventure activities to participate in while in Swakopmund. These range from sandboarding through quad biking to sky-diving. No activities are included in this package but they can be pre-arranged when you book this itinerary or left for you to arrange on arrival is Swakopmund. Being a German inspired town good food and beer is never hard to find, so we are sure you will find something productive to do!
Breakfast only
Today you have a drive of around 300km's which will take you around 4-5 hours. Your route will take you across the gravel plains of the Namib Desert and through the Kuiseb & Gaub passes. Aim to arrive at your accommodation in the late afternoon, On arrival at Sesriem Campsite, which is also the entrance to the Namib Naukluft Park and the dunes, check in at reception and set up your camp. This evening you could decide to have sundown drinks at the nearby petrified Elim dune.
Breakfast
If you are an early bird and are fascinated by the idea of being at Sossusvlei for sunrise have a word with the park staff to find out at what time the gate opens (normally about an hour before sunrise) and head out towards the dunes as early as you can. For those more inclined to sleep and less fussy about having to be in the dunes for sunrise still try to get an early start as the dunes are ...
Breakfast only
After breakfast, pack up and head back to Windhoek.
Not included
Includes
Excludes
See the individual lodges for detailed inclusions & exclusions.
Vehicles
Although we have excluded the cost of renting a vehicle from the quoted rate we are happy to advise you on the best possible vehicle and arrange a rental for you. For an idea of what is available have a look at our car hire in Namibia section
Our interactive Itinerary Builder allows you to plan your trip to Botswana or Namibia, selecting multiple properties on an easy-to-use map. Compatible properties can be booked immediately, and those without online availability can be sent to our reservations team for processing.
Launching soon...
Sorry, we can’t seem to find any matches for your search. Have a look at our popular searches below.
